We were all excited to hit the water. The mosaic of marsh and brackish water created a seemingly endless maze of channels and wandering shorelines. Red fish habitat as far as the eyes could see. This important habitat is shrinking however, and later on in this series we’ll discuss that matter.
Beats oars!
Monday morning and after 6:30 breakfast and rigging our gear we hit the ramp and were off to search for red fish. Two veteran Delta guides would be showing us around, Captain Ryan Lambert of Cajun Fishing Adventures and Captain Gregg Arnold have been fishing these waters for decades. They know all the in’s and out’s of finding fish in this neck of the woods.
Creeping along, all eyes scanned for signs of fish.
As the guide quietly push-poled the boat along, everyone scanned the water for disturbances indicating fish movement. Subtle wakes referred to as “pushes” revealed where fish were and which direction they were moving. Water clarity was a major issue, as the flows of the Mississippi rose over ten feet in the days just prior to our arrival. Between the influx of muddy Mississippi water pushing down the delta and sediment laden brown water from off-shore dredging coming in on the tides, the visibility of the water we were fishing was a few inches at best. Far from ideal and adding a great challenge to targeting and casting to fish.
Sliding along via Captain Lambert and his push pole.
You can’t order conditions, and the scenario of such dirty water was offset by the pleasure of very calm winds and perfect temperatures. It was a trade off of fishing conditions I think we all were happy to work with.
